MLB: Top 2011 Underachievers by Position

I did the overachiever thing here (if you didn't see it, click away—if I get to 1,000 reads I win an adorable fake medal), so it's only proper that I highlight the players at each position who have crapped the bed so far this year.

One quick note about the selection process: for the overachiever article, I only used qualified players at each position, according to fangraphs. This time, I used all players to ensure that no one sneaks by my keen eye. I'm looking at you, Alex Avila.

Anyway, here is the 2011 All-Underachiever Team through this point in the season.

Catcher: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

I don't really know what Soto's problem is, but so far his 2011 is looking a lot like his 2009—and that's not a good thing for Cubs fans. Consider the lines:

2009: .218/.321/.381

2011: .220/.319/.374

To quote Scooby Doo, "Rut roh!"

Power seems to be the common denominator between his success and failure; when he's right, Soto puts up an Isolated Power Score (ISO) above .200, which is exceptionally good for an everyday major league catcher.

When things aren't going so well, Soto's ISO hovers around .160, which seems to equate to a slugging percentage below .400.

There is still some reason for optimism with Soto moving forward.

In 2009, Soto's line drive percentage tanked, meaning he wasn't making the kind of contact you'd want as a hitter, but his 2011 LD% isn't that far from his 2010 level.

What this essentially means is that a lot of Soto's problems hitting, especially in the batting average department, may be a result of bad luck (.261 BABIP) rather than overall poor hitting.

Second Base: Orlando Hudson, San Diego Padres

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Hudson just narrowly beat out Mark Ellis in a battle of craptastic performances.

Ultimately it came down to BABIP; Ellis' .245 mark means some of his terribleness can be chalked-up to some bad luck (not all of it—he also essentially stopped taking walks). Hudson's BABIP is pretty much league average, meaning bad luck has nothing to do with his ineptitude.

O-Dog is in decline, no doubt, and he isn't exactly All-world to begin with at second. His best year came in 2004, but his second best year was in 2010 in Minnesota, where he was a 3.4 WAR player with a .268/.338/.372 line.

This year, Hudson's posting a .217/.326/.278 line to go along with a 0.3 WAR.

Whatever minute power Hudson had appears to be all but gone and although his walks and steals are up, his overall value is tanking. Might be time to put the ol' dog down.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Here I was thinking with this column that I, too, would have to drop some dirt into the Derek Jeter grave, when down I scroll to find Mr. Ramirez's name alongside some of the most useless shortstops in the game today.

Hanley's line as of today stands at .210/.306/.309.

Some of his problem is bad luck—.236 BABIP—although there has been a slight drop in line drive's hit.

Ramirez's defense has been its normal terrible self, although he's improved (relatively speaking) since he came up.

Bottom line: He's still one of the most dynamic players going, and If I did an end of the year column like this, I don't think he'd still be the pick at short.

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets

Aramis Ramirez is having a worse season, but his 2010 stunk and he doesn't have the pedigree Wright has.

Once an above-average defender, Wright has been below average the last three seasons.

His .178 ISO isn't as bad as it was in 2009 (.140), but it isn't particularly close his to 2010 ISO either (.220).

The decline in defense and the erratic hitting has, in the last three years, turned what was once a 8.9 WAR player into someone who struggles to reach 4.0. As of now, Wright's 2011 WAR is 0.5, which is low for him no matter how you spin it—hence, the "under performer" label.

Center Field: Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

I'm not really sure what type of player Rios is anymore. I don't think he's the same guy who was a 5+ WAR stud his last two years in Toronto, but I also don't think he's the 2009 0.3 WAR stinker either.

In any case, Rios' 2011 has been particularly futile. His line stands at .199/.253/.301, which equals a Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA—a hitting aggregate stat that is read like an OBP) of .248.

The bright side for Rios fans—wait, do those exist?—is that a fair amount of his poor performance may be due to bad luck.

Rios' BABIP is .205, so some of the balls are bound to find holes soon, unless he has a historically unlucky season like Aaron Hill had in 2010.

Chances are that won't be the case, so look for that -0.1 WAR to turn positive sooner rather than later.

Left Field: Jason Bay, New York Mets

Nick Laham/Getty Images

"I don't know how Jason Bay got washed up so fast. He looks like he's using Brian Schneider's broken bats."- A Text From my friend Casey, from two nights ago.

My friend Casey is a big Mets fan, and we used to joke that when Brian Schneider was catching for the Mets the only way to explain his complete lack of power was that he must constantly be using broken bats.

It was a theory so preposterous that it was borderline legitimate when considering the 2009 Mets.

Truth be told, I have no idea what's wrong with Bay.

The popular wisdom last year was that Citifield had swallowed another power hitter alive, but that logic didn't hold up when you considered Bay actually slugged 100 points higher at home than on the road in 2010.

His 2011 ISO is essentially the same as light hitting shortstop Jason Bartlett's. K-Rod has a higher slugging percentage than Jason Bay. His .216 BA has little to do with bad luck and more to do with the fact that he's hitting the most ground balls of his career.

His fielding? Still below average.

Basically, if Jason Bay isn't hitting for power, then he isn't really doing much of anything.

Relief Pitcher- Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Remember how the Royals were horrid the last few years and Soria was the only bright spot? And a lot of smart baseball people said you better trade him now while his value is at it's highest? Kansas City would have been well served to heed that advice.

Everything is seems to be falling for Soria except his ERA and FIP, which have ballooned from 1.78 and 2.53 to 5.76 and 4.82 respectively. Like Lackey, Soria's strikeouts are down and his walks are up, with no discernible change in velocity. He's now giving up home runs at an alarming rate and has recently been demoted from the closer role.